THE WHALING INDUSTRY.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1924, 5 December 1913, Page 4

THE WHALING INDUSTRY.

ON THE AUSTRALIAN COAST. NORWEGIAN COMPANY'S VENTURE. The factory ship Loch 'fay—the steamer employed by xlio Whaling company, which has been exploiting the South Coast of Now South Wales, and was formerly in Ne.v Zealand waters, returned to Sydney last week, accompanied by the whaler Sorrell. Tho Loch lay has on board 15,900 casks c-f oil, the result of her cruise, lo New Zealand, and off tho South Coast, and she will now fill up with whs.it cargo al Darling Island, and return to Norway to pay olf. Inn three whalers, viz.. the Campbell, fcorrell, and Lionel, will bo laid up in Sydney pending instructions from the owners iu Norway. Somo interesting information in connection with the whaling industry was furnished by Mr. Olas E. Pauss. the Norwegian Consul at Sydney. Chatting with a ""Daily Telegraph" representative, Mr. Pauss stated that tho venture had not been a financial success, owing to the heavy expenditure incurred in maintaining the factory ship at Jorvis Bay. A good deal of this expense, lie explained, might bo saved by establishing a shore station, and in this way ho thought an Australian company run oil strictly commercial lines might make a success of the whaling industry. As a result of tho cruises on the South. Coast, it was found that tho whales travelled north durinst the month of, June and returned about the middle of September, continuing to work southward until tho beginning of November. The total number of whales taken from September 7 until the middle of November last year was 155, averaging 31 casks of oil per whale. From May 17 to November 13 this year 3»J whales were captured, ana in addition 31 sperm and one pike were secured, malum: a grand total of filC 1 n-baJps caught in Australian and New Zealand waters. No "right" whales wei'o seen at all, and only four sperm whales were taken off this coast. Oi: ether species captured 256 were -humpback, 127 sulohur bottoms, 62 finbacks, and 38 pike. 'The host oil came from the humpbacks, some averaging as much as 40 casks per whale, whils 1 , others averaged °5 '■asks per whale. One romnrkablo vi?ld from a sulphur bottom whale was 150 casks—or 25 tons— wjiicli is looked upon as something of a rw'ord. 0« the other band, some of the whales gnv-e no oil at all, and these wore found to he entirely void of blubber, the body being covered with ulcers—evidently a disease among tksm. Some of the finbacks averaged lb c.isks of oil, and tho pike mm- casks. The wbal"s most numerous on the coast were the humobaeks. The other species were found to be irregular visitors to these shores. Tho whales were found from Bto 20 miles off tho coast.. The sperm whales are the only specie with teeth, and their chief food appears to bo squid, while others live on "kril." The finbacks and pike mako pilchard thenprincipal diet. From investigations made by the officers of tho whalers, tho Now South Wales coast is not the homo of the whales. The north-west coast of Australia is'considered a breeding ground, and there some good catches had been made by the Norwegian company,'operating in West Australia. A fine'haul of ambergris was made by the whalers during the visir to New Zealand, the value being roughly given at £9005.